When an image is scanned, every pixel is typically given a color value for each color channel. Sometimes, however, storage and/or printing of the entire image may not be desirable. For example, assume the image to be scanned is a text document that consists of black text on a white sheet of paper. Often the background of these scanned images is of little importance to the user. So, storing each pixel, including the background pixels, can unnecessarily consume a lot of storage resources, especially when a lot of images are scanned at high resolution.
Moreover, printing the scanned image can result in wasted ink/toner and/or an unsatisfactory printed document. This is because each scanned pixel may be printed onto the paper, including all the background pixels. So, if the scanned image is being printed onto a yellow sheet of paper, the white background of the original scanned image may too be printed, resulting in an off-putting document. Background pixels are not easily removed because different types of papers can have different colors and/or shadings of backgrounds. Examples of various types of paper can include, newspapers, recycled paper, coated paper, aged paper (which is often yellowed), or various colored papers. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the invention has been made.